a·gen·tic a·gil·i·ty: blog

Defines the Definition of Done in Scrum as a clear, shared standard for quality, ensuring increments are releasable, transparent, and continuously …

Explores how effective capacity planning shifts focus from individual hours to system-level flow, using Lean and Agile principles to improve …

Explains how short-lived topic branches in source control improve software quality, enable modularity, speed up integration, and support agile, …

Explains how fragmented automation and tool silos harm software delivery, and advocates for unified engineering systems and platform engineering to …

Explores the distinct roles of human and AI agency in adaptive systems, emphasising human-led strategy and accountability versus AI-driven tactical …

Explains why business logic should not be written in stored procedures, highlighting testability, maintainability, scalability, and strategies for …

Explores how lacking developer control over production, telemetry, and deployments undermines DevOps, leading to fragile automation and failed …

Resilience must be designed into products from the start, not added later. Build systems to detect, contain, and recover from failures, making …

Most agile transformations fail by neglecting agency—empowering people and systems to adapt—making true agility possible through autonomy, evidence, …

Learn key strategies for building business resilience and continuity, including observability, system decoupling, routine deployments, team …

Explores how robots and AI automate repetitive work, challenging outdated job structures and enabling humans to focus on creativity, problem-solving, …

Explores how poor engineering, shallow product thinking, and organisational denial lead to fragile systems, stressing that true resilience requires …

Explains why true Scrum requires real team agency, not just self-management in name, and how lacking agency leads to ineffective, ritualistic Agile …

Explains how the Definition of Done evolves in Scrum, aligning team practices with organisational standards to ensure consistent quality, compliance, …

Scrum Masters are most effective when they combine leadership skills with technical, business, and organisational mastery to support teams, Product …

Explores how Scrum Masters and Product Owners balance leadership, authority, and team autonomy to ensure accountability, effective self-management, …

Measuring individual cycle time in Kanban misleads teams, hides real bottlenecks, and harms flow. Focus on system-wide metrics like PCE, WIP, and …

Continuous delivery is achievable for any software, regardless of complexity. Success depends on investment in automation, quality, and process …

Argues that the Scrum Master role requires proven mastery and real-world experience, not entry-level skills or certifications, and should be earned …

Explains how audience-based deployment and testing in production enable faster feedback, safer rollouts, and higher software quality by targeting real …

Value in software is only realised through delivery. Frequent releases validate assumptions, reduce risk, and enable rapid feedback, adaptation, and …

Explains why promoting code through multiple branches slows delivery, increases risk, and suggests GitHub Flow or Release Flow as simpler, safer …

Scrum teams must deliver working software to real users every Sprint; true progress is measured by delivery to production, not just by completing …

Explains how the Scrum Master is accountable for enabling effective product delivery, fostering team success, and ensuring each sprint produces a …

Excessive handoffs in software development create delays, reduce quality, and harm team morale. Learn how eliminating handoffs boosts agility, flow, …

Explains the difference between subjective goals and the objective Definition of Done in Scrum, highlighting how clear, measurable criteria ensure …

Many Scrum Masters lack core Scrum knowledge and technical skills, leading to poor team support. Learn key competencies needed for effective, …

Explores why teams ignore clear signals from Agile and Scrum, highlighting how culture and fear hinder continuous improvement and effective …

Explores how practical use of Scrum fosters adaptability and resilience in teams, highlighting the value of flexibility over rigid rules in complex …

Using Blocked columns on Kanban boards hides workflow issues, causes task stagnation, and reduces transparency. Use tags to indicate blockages and …

Explores the shift from traditional to immersive Agile learning, highlighting how ongoing, real-world practice and reflection improve knowledge …

Explores how the seven deadly sins from Greek philosophy mirror common pitfalls in agile software development, offering insights to avoid pride, envy, …

Learn how to define, craft, and achieve effective Sprint Goals in Scrum, using frameworks like SMART and OKR to align teams, deliver value, and …

Explains how to maintain clear, measurable quality standards with the Definition of Done, while avoiding confusion with acceptance criteria and …

Explains why Story Points are subjective and unsuitable for comparing teams, and highlights objective metrics like throughput and value for measuring …

Explains how Scrum teams can balance Sprint work and Refinement, with strategies and visual tools to track, manage, and visualise both for better …

Explores why true organisational agility means building custom processes to respond quickly to market changes, not just adopting popular frameworks or …

Explores why replacing "User Stories" with "Product Backlog Items" improves clarity, flexibility, and transparency in product backlog management and …

Explores how to maintain a lean, transparent product backlog that balances current needs with future readiness, enabling teams to adapt and maximise …

Explores how rigid hierarchies in product backlogs can hinder agility, advocating for flatter, value-focused approaches to manage complexity in …

Explains how a well-ordered, refined Product Backlog guides Agile teams, supports goal alignment, and ensures value-driven product development through …

Explores how superficial adoption of agile in software development mirrors unused gym memberships, highlighting the need for genuine commitment and …

Failing to deliver a usable product each agile iteration leads to lost trust, technical debt, poor adaptability, misaligned expectations, low morale, …

Delivering usable, working products frequently is key to reducing risk in Agile. Focus on feedback, automation, and lean practices over excessive …

Compares Agile’s risk mitigation through incremental, usable products with traditional project management’s reliance on documentation, highlighting …

Examines how rigid, hierarchical Alpha organisations struggle and waste resources in fast-paced red markets, highlighting the need for agile, …

Explores why traditional hierarchical organisations struggle in fast-changing markets and argues for agile, decentralised structures to boost …

Explores why businesses should develop custom scaling practices tailored to their unique culture and needs, rather than adopting standard frameworks, …

Learn about Scrum.org’s new PAL-EBM training, which helps leaders use evidence-based management and custom metrics to align teams with organisational …

Explains the key accountabilities, skills, and behaviours required for a Scrum Product Owner, including hiring trends, role requirements, and …

Highlights the importance of professionalism in agile teams, warning against excusing unprofessional behaviour as agility and stressing ethical, …

Covers key responsibilities, skills, and requirements for hiring a Scrum Master, including leadership, coaching, facilitation, and fostering effective …

Explains how Scrum teams rely on three key roles—Influencers, Entrepreneurs, and Makers—to balance leadership, value creation, and technical delivery.

Explores the shift from traditional management to leadership focused on inspiration, effectiveness, and servant leadership, with insights for Scrum …

Technical debt increases risk to products and businesses, leading to hidden costs, reduced quality, and slower delivery. Ignoring it can harm …

Learn about becoming a Professional Kanban Trainer, the Applying Professional Kanban course, certification process, and key Kanban principles for …

Explores how Taylorism shaped modern management, leading to rigid hierarchies, bureaucracy, and dehumanising work practices that persist beyond …

Explains how the Sprint Goal serves as an immediate tactical objective in Scrum, guiding teams toward strategic Product Goals and maximising value …

Explains why relying on story points and velocity signals team immaturity in Scrum, and highlights better ways to build confidence and predictability …

Explains how to gather key metrics for evidence-based management in software organisations, focusing on value delivery, time to market, and ability to …